starbucks4ever (90.04)

Idiot of the day: Putin

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A random fluke that sent oil prices to bubble levels has produced a very small dead cat bounce of his GDP, making him think it was not because he was simply lucky. Sure, comrade colonel (or, should I rather say, citizen colonel :), it was not because you were simply lucky but rather because you were extraordinarily lucky. Here's hope that if oil goes to $150, the economy will eke out another 3.1% growth under your wise leadership.

"The situation really has been quite complicated," admitted Putin. "It is now far from benign but the gloomiest predictions were not realized -- and not because we were simply lucky."

Putin, who battled through his speech despite a heavy cold, confirmed the government's prediction for 3.1 percent growth in 2010 but said it could be higher. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has said four percent is possible.

"The recession in our economy has ended. We also have very good starting conditions for moving forwards," said Putin, adding that statistics for the first quarter of 2010 had inspired optimism.

As an outsider, I'm sad that Russia is not a richer country. It has amazing natural resources and enormous amounts of land. Of course, on a smaller scale the same could be said about West Virginia, one of the poorer states in the U.S, which is very rich in minerals, coal for instance.

But the most important resource any country has is its own people. "Without vision the people perish..." Give me a well-educated, self-motivated population that puts a high value on human worth and I will give you a successful country no matter what land mass or physical resources they have. I agree with chevion that employment with jobs that are real (self-sustaining is the word that comes to mind) is crucial to a good future. High employment is good for morale.

The US is on the way to achieve self-sufficiency. Putin should be great to speculators like GS whose buying and flipping of oil futures has kept prices at frothy levels even in the absence of real demand.

#2,

Nothing good can happen in Russia until oil goes back to $8 a barrel. This kleptocratic regime will keep strangling the economy as long as it can pump oil, pump oil revenues to Cayman Islands, and pay off the pensioners with a $30 check to keep them quiet. You can have modernization or you can have Putin, but you can't have both at the same time.

Kleptocracy or thug capitalism, the situation looks grim for Russia. Oil at $8 a barrel seems highly unlikely but all kinds of factors can change a political situation. I never expected the Berlin wall to come down when it did. Don't lose hope. Continue to do right yourself and inform others of the truth when you can.